What REALLY goes on in a job interview? Find out in the new revision
of "Sweaty Palms: The Neglected Art of Being Interviewed" (Warner Books)
by Tony Medley, updated for the world of the Internet . Over 500,000
copies in print and the only book on the job interview written by an
experienced interviewer, one who has conducted thousands of interviews.
This is the truth, not the ivory tower speculations
of those who write but have no actual experience. "One of the top five
books every job seeker should read," says Hotjobs.com.

Mesrine: Killer Instinct (Part 1) (8/10)

by Tony Medley

Run time 113 minutes.

Not for children.

This is the true story of
Jacques Mesrine (Vincent Cassell), pronounced May-reen, who was declared
the French public enemy number one during his reign of terror, circa
1961-1979. Because so much happened during his life the filmmakers
wisely divided the story into two parts, although they were shot
concurrently over a 33-week period starting on May 7, 2007. This is the
first half, which covers his life between 1959-1973.

An incredibly violent film,
Mesrine is pictured as a charming man who wore many faces; a ladies’
man, a bank robber, a doting father, an escape artist, an extremely
violent man, and, finally, a manipulator of the media.

Director Jean-François Richet
didn’t structure it to respect the codes of a certain genre, like making
it a gangster film. He says he made it about how best to serve the
character, and it includes action, humor, and romance. He also said he
wouldn’t have made the movie if Cassell wasn’t cast as Mesrine.

Mesrine’s wife, Sofia, is
played by Spanish actress Elena Anaya, a beauty if ever there was one.
One of the most shocking scenes in the movie is the way she is treated
by Mesrine when she is the mother of their three children. It sets the
standard for his character. While she might be relatively unknown, she
stands out in what is a remarkable cast. Says Richet himself, “Elena is
surely one of the film’s revelations.” That’s for sure. The main thing I
remember when I think about the film is her and how Mesrine treated her.

But the violence aginst Sofia
is nothing compared to what we see when he stabs one of his opponents.
We see him slowly insert the knife, pull it out, and insert it again. In
another scene we see a bullet being graphically removed from Mesrine’s
arm. Richet certainly doesn’t take a back seat to Quentin Tarantino when
it comes to sensationalizing graphic violence. I think it’s unnecessary
when Tarantino does it and I think it’s unnecessary here, although it
does serve to show that in spite of his charm and charisma, Mesrine was
a sociopath.

In addition to Cassell, Richet
says, “I was lucky to have the cream of French cinema with me – Gérard
Depardieu, Gérard Lanvin, Mathieu Amalric, Ludivine Sagnier, Cécile de
France, Gilles Lellouche, Samuel Le Bihan, Olivier Gourmet, Florence
Thomassin, and others. We were like a small theater company.”

de France was cast in the
pivotal role of Jeanne Schneider, his alter ego and accomplice for most
of the film. She brilliantly portrays the prostitute who knows the
moment she first sees him that he is her destiny.

Despite the graphic violence,
Cassell creates a memorable character, perhaps as memorable as the real
man he portrays. If one doesn’t remember, or never knew about, Mesrine,
one might think that the facts have been stretched. Says Richet, “The
facts are so novelistic there was practically no need to invent. (Mesrine)
is a movie character.”